Non-equilibrium condensation and coarsening of field-driven dipolar colloids

TL;DR

This paper uses computer simulations to analyze how external rotating fields induce clustering in dipolar colloids, revealing that the pattern formation results from vapor-liquid phase transition dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a novel interpretation of clustering as a vapor-liquid phase transition-driven process in field-driven dipolar colloids.

Findings

Clustering is linked to vapor-liquid first order phase transition.

Dynamic coarsening corresponds to spinodal demixing.

Pattern formation driven by external fields in colloids.

Abstract

In colloidal suspensions, self-organization processes can be easily fueled by external fields. One particularly interesting class of phenomena occurs in monolayers of dipolar particles that are driven by rotating external fields. Here we report results from a computer simulation study of such systems focusing on the clustering behavior also observed in recent experiments. The key result of this paper is a novel interpretation of this pattern formation phenomenon: We show the clustering to be a by-product of a vapor-liquid first order phase transition. In fact, the observed dynamic coarsening process corresponds to the spindodal demixing that occurs during such a transition